Action camera maker GoPro has been forced to cut a good chunk of its workforce after falling profits hit in late 2015

From the outside, GoPro must seem like its onto a winner. The company is clearly the frontrunner in the action camera world which looks to be more popular than ever and has released a number of new products over the last year. They even had a major presence at CES 2016, sharing the stage with YouTube.

But all is not what it seems, with the California-based manufacturer forced to shed seven percent of its workforce in early 2016. That amounts to over 100 people, with over 1500 total employees worldwide at last count. The high profile of the company wasn't enough to ensure that growth continued, with the fourth quarter of 2015 resulting in fewer profits than expected.

It comes at the end of a difficult year for GoPro, which launched a new form factor in the Hero 4 Session. This new, smaller, cube shaped camera was pretty much ignored by the market, mostly becuase it was initially massively overpriced for its rather middling specs. That price was eventually dropped but it wasn't enough to ensure higher earnings, even with the release of other low cost models like the Hero+ and Hero+ LCD.

Of course this restructuring isn't a sign that the company is on the way out, it's just going to have to knuckle down for 2016 and explore new territory. And GoPro is all set to get on board with the latest technology trends - they're working on a consumer level 360 degree camera in partnership with YouTube (which will be perfect for virtual reality) and also have their own drone coming out in the next few months.